


Audio Description

by petersnotkingyet



Series: Love is Blind (and so is Kenny) [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alexei is a goofball, Anxiety, Blind Character, Blind!Kent, But he loves KP a lot, Disability, Disabled Character, Established Relationship, Fluff, Kent and Eric are friends, M/M, Stimming, mentions of Buzzfeed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 15:25:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10722060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petersnotkingyet/pseuds/petersnotkingyet
Summary: Kent's blind, but not everyone seems to realize that.





	Audio Description

“Alexei?” Kent said.  He’d lost his grip on the taller man, and now there were people jostling him from all sides.  Someone knocked into him especially hard, and his sunglasses—the purple ones from Swoops—fell.  The urge to rock and rub at his face hit Kent hard and sudden.  He fisted his hands in his shirt instead and said, “ _Alexei!_ ”

“It’s Jack,” a voice said next to him.  A hand touched his elbow lightly, and Kent latched onto the arm it was attached to.

“What’s happening?” Kent asked.

“The divider between us and the fans got knocked down,” Jack said.  He sounded calm, and Kent tried to reassure himself with that.  “Nobody’s hurt, but the fans are a little too excited.  Alexei’s ahead of us.  He got separated in the crowd.  We’ll catch up to him once we’re inside.”

“I lost my sunglasses,” Kent said.

“Yeah, I saw.  Marty and Snowy are back there looking for them,” Jack said.

“They don’t have to waste their time,” Kent said.  “They probably got stepped on.”

“Do you want to wear mine?” a new voice added.  There was only one person Kent knew here with a Southern accent.  In his panic, he’d forgotten that Jack had brought Eric.

“Yeah,” Kent said.  “Please.”  The sunglasses were placed in his hands, already unfolded, and Kent slid them on.  They fit a little tighter than his own, but the feeling was familiar enough to lessen the urge to rub at his face.

“We’re almost inside,” Eric said.  Kent heard an air conditioner and then rapid-fire Russian.

“I’m fine, ‘Lexei,” Kent said as he let go of Jack and leaned into his boyfriend.  His voice sounded almost like he was.  A little shaky, but better than expected.

“Scared me, solnishko,” Alexei stated factually, rubbing Kent’s back.  “I got pushed along in crowd without you.”

“Jack got to me pretty fast,” Kent said.  “I lost my shades though.”

“Too bad,” Alexei said.  “I liked the purple.  Looked good with suit.”

“Yeah, too bad,” Kent agreed, discreetly wiping his sweaty hands on his pants.  “Alright, let’s get this show on the road.”

“Are sure?” Alexei asked.  “I can find quiet place if you want sit a while.  Or call cab and forget game.”

“Like we’d miss the Aces game,” Kent snorted, smacking Alexei on the arm lightly.  “Come on.  You know I’ll leave you.”

The game was a good one.  By the time he and Eric were settled into the box with the other families, Kent felt more like himself.  When Eric couldn’t get away from school for a game, Kent listened to a commentator on his phone with headphones, but Eric was better than any commentator.  He tended to get a little preoccupied with Jack, but he cussed more colorfully than the ESPN guys could get away with.  For a few minutes, he swore beautifully while it looked like the Aces had it, but a last minute goal from Jack had the Falconers’ crowd roaring in a way that required no explaination.

The next day, Kent was on his lunch break before he had time to listen to the link Eric had sent him that morning.  By the time the text-to-speech synthesizer read the title of the video— _Alexei Mashkov Speaks on Boyfriend Kent Parson_ —Kent was leaning forward on his elbows.

“Mr. Mashkov,” the interviewer began.  Something about her voice was familiar, but Kent couldn’t place it.  “In the past, you haven’t spoken much about your boyfriend Kent Parson.”

“I speak about Kenny all the time,” Alexei stated.  “So much.  I call my mama and she says, ‘Yes, Alexei, you love Kenny.  You love him so much all the time.  I am asking about Alyosha now, not Kenny.’”

“Of course,” the interviewer slowly.  “Let me rephrase that.  You haven’t spoken to the media about Kent very much.”

“I never go to media and say ‘This is boyfriend Kenny.’  Media just figures out because I am bringing Kenny with me all the time and holding his hand.  I do not mind; is not secret.  But I never sit down and tell everyone all about Kenny like I tell my mama.  So people see Kenny wearing sunglasses inside and think ‘Kenny is douchebag’ not ‘Kenny cannot see and light hurts eyes.’  People see Kenny with headphones at game and think ‘Kenny is douchebag’ not ‘Kenny is listening to commentator because he cannot see game,’” Alexei rambled.  Kent’s shoulders were shaking with laughter.  “But last night Kenny gets sunglasses knocked and suddenly everyone wants to write article on groundbreaking Kenny and Alexei.  We are not breaking ground.  Broke bed once, but not ground.”

Someone rapped on the open door to his office, and Kent scrambled to his pause on the video.  His face was hot and had to be flushed, and tears had gathered in his eyes.  Even so, Kent sat up straight and tried to get his breathing back under control.

“I stopped by this morning and got you another pair of those purple sunglasses you lik-” Jeff broke off.  “Parson, you sap, are you crying?”

“Jeff,” Kent managed through his laughter.  “Jeff, have you heard this interview Alexei did after the game last night?”

“Oh, yeah,” Jeff said.  “It went around the staff email this morning.  Have you listened to the whole thing?”

“No,” Kent said.  “I think there’s a little left.  I don’t know if it can get much better, though.”

“Oh, it does,” Jeff said.  “Scoot over.  I want to watch the end again.  It’s legendary.  He mentions me, y’know.”

Kent managed to stop laughing just in time for Swoops to hit play on the video again.

“So what made you decide to speak with Buzzfeed News?” the interviewer asked.  “I saw several others approach you tonight, and you didn’t have much to say.”

“I’m know Buzzfeed,” Alexei said enthusiastically.  “Kenny is loving your quizzes.  The ones with only pictures I describe for him.”

“That’s great to hea-” the interviewer started to say, but Alexei wasn’t finished.

“Should have audio description, though.  If I am gone, text-voice synthesizer cannot do pictures.  Kenny’s friend Jeff is not as good as me.  Other Kennies do not have Alexeis.”  There was a pause.  Kent was familiar enough with his boyfriend’s mannerisms to know Alexei was leaning forward intently.  “Can you talk to someone at Buzzfeed about audio descriptions?”

“I, uh…” the interviewer fumbled.  “Yeah, I can try.”

“Good,” Alexei said.  “Thanks for interview.”

“And then he just walks away!” Jeff cackled.  “He just waves at the crew and walks away.  Can you believe that?”

“Yes,” Kent said.  “I can abso-fucking-lutely believe it.”


End file.
